


Tinkering

by SarahRad



Series: Just Your Average Crime Fighting Family [2]
Category: Marvel (Movies)
Genre: Domestic Avengers, Gen, M/M, Superfamily, Superhusbands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-03
Updated: 2012-06-03
Packaged: 2017-11-06 17:44:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/421590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SarahRad/pseuds/SarahRad
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Young Peter just wants a bit of his Dad's attention.  When he can't get it, he finds other ways to amuse himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tinkering

Peter huffed out a sigh and kicked his feet back and forth under the stool he was sitting on. It was tall stool and he was still pretty short for an eight year old so there was a lot of space to manoeuver. He was set up at one of the worktops in his Dad’s workshop, doing homework while his dad worked on something important. Peter had tried asking about it, but Tony kept directing him back to his homework without answering his question.

But now Peter was finished his homework. It wasn’t even hard really. Just addition and subtraction. That was easy. He had mastered multiplication and long division two years ago as it was. He was so bored in class, always working ahead in the textbooks and then getting detentions for not paying attention to the lessons. It wasn’t fair, but every time he tried to explain to his parents they just sighed and told him they couldn’t help him yet - skipping grades wasn’t allowed until you were 10. They did their best to keep him occupied at home, but there was only so far they were willing to go, not wanting him to become even more bored in class.  
“What’re you doing, Daddy?” Peter asked.  
“How’s the homework coming buddy?” Tony replied without looking up from the mechanical piece he was screwing together.  
“I’m all done. Can I help you?”  
“Not right now Peter. Daddy’s working on something important. So just sit tight okay? Why don’t you pull out the pencil crayons and draw?” Tony said, gesturing to the Keep Peter Occupied drawer without taking his eyes of his work. Peter just narrowed his eyes at the brush off. He didn’t want to draw, he wanted to do something with his Dad. He slumped over the worktop, kicking his heels against the legs of his chair. 

He needed to get his Dad’s attention. But the question was how. The obvious way would be to break something or make a mess, but he was a smart eight-year-old. He knew that doing that would end him up in a time out or cleaning up until bedtime. No, he needed a productive way to get Daddy’s attention.

He started poking at the worktop as he tried to think of ideas. While doing so, he accidentally activated the holographic interface and was faced with the last thing his Dad has been working on, an engine of some kind. Peter sat up slowly, looking over to see if his Dad had noticed. He hadn’t. Well, Peter wasn’t bored anymore.

He pushed up his glasses and climbed on top of the table, so he could properly reach the holographic engine. He rotated it slowly, getting used to the interface before take it apart. Slowly, piece by piece, the engine was disassembled by Peter’s small hands. He placed each piece to the side, mentally cataloguing where they came from as he did. Once he had each piece separated from the engine block, he took each piece and inspected it, trying to figure out what it was and why it existed.

An hour later, Peter had reassembled the engine twice and had opened a new file to try building his own engine from scratch. He was halfway through, inserting one of the pistons when he heard a yelp and a crash which broke his concentration. He looked up, annoyed at the interruption to see his Dad running across the room towards him. Peter froze in fear.  
“What are you doing?!” Tony cried, yanking Peter off the worktop as if he weighed nothing.  
“Building an engine.” Peter said. He didn’t see how he could really be in trouble for this. After all, he didn’t break anything, and he hadn’t changed the design of the first engine he had tinkered with.  
“You were… building… an engine?!” Tony spluttered. He was breathing hard as if he had been scared.  
“Yes. I didn’t want to colour.” Peter explained as if this was the most logical leap of thought in the world.  
“But, but.. How!?”  
“Look, I was just putting the piston in here.” Peter explained, leaning out of his father’s arms to rotate the hologram expertly and began to insert the piston again. Tony just stood there in shock, keeping his son steady as he watched the eight-year-old build an engine right in front of him.  
“When did you learn how to build an engine, Peter?” Tony asked.  
“Just now. A file with an engine opened up, so I took it apart a few times and figured out how it was built. Then I decided to try building one from scratch, and this is what I’ve got so far.” Tony placed Peter back on the worktop and moved around the table to get a better look at the engine. He rotated it a few times, moving a few pieces to see how Peter had fit them together. Peter just sat and watched, still not sure if he was going to get punished.  
“Not bad, buddy. But look, the pistons here are at the wrong angle. For the best combustion you’d want to put them more like this.” Tony explained, moving the pistons to show what he meant. Peter leaned in closer to observe and nodded when he understood. Tony moved on to show Peter how to fix the other little mistakes he had made on the engine and Peter scooted up onto his knees to get more involved.

**

Three hours later, Steve wandered down to the workroom, looking for his family. It was late and he had come home to a very unoccupied house, the lights off and no sign of dinner having been made. What he found in the workroom made him stop and lurk by the doorway, watching with a smile.

Tony and Peter had designed and built most of a holographic car on the worktop. They were so focused on what they were doing, they hadn’t even heard Steve come in. They were both tinkering on different parts of the car, with Tony occasionally pointing out where Peter was going wrong and then letting Peter figure out how to fix it. Steve just stood and enjoyed the scene for a bit before interrupting.  
“And how are my boys this evening?” he asked as he walked over to the worktop. Tony looked up in surprise and glanced at the clock.  
“Wow, evening already?” Tony said, kissing Steve hello. “We’ve been at this for hours, buddy.”  
“I bet you guys are hungry.” Steve said. As soon as he mentioned it, Peter’s stomach gave an audible rumble, that seemed to surprise the boy judging by the look on his face.  
“Yes, food please.” Peter said.  
“Why don’t you come upstairs and I’ll cook something up, then?” Steve said with a smile, leading the troupe back up to the apartment.

**

Once Peter was fed, bathed, and in bed, Steve and Tony curled up on the couch together and put on some mindless television.  
“I just can’t believe he figured out how an engine was built all on his own.” Tony said, clearly still in awe at his son’s engineering prowess.  
“Well we already knew how bright he was. We probably shouldn’t be so surprised.” Steve reasoned.  
“I also should have known better than to think he would be sufficiently occupied by drawing. And the fact that I didn’t realize what he was doing until he had taken apart and rebuilt my engine plan twice and almost entirely built a new engine of his own, I mean, what kind of father am I? He could have been doing something far worse, far more dangerous, and I wouldn’t have had a clue!”  
“Don’t beat yourself up about it. He’s a good kid, he knows not to do anything dangerous.”  
“That’s not the point, Steve! I brushed him off when he asked if he could help me. I didn’t even think twice about it either!”  
“You’re clearly thinking twice about it now. So what’s the problem?” Steve asked.  
“The problem is that I feel like a terrible parent, Steve.” Tony got up and began pacing restlessly across the living room. “I knew this was going to happen, from the day we brought him home. It was only so long before I would fuck up.”  
Steve got up and went to Tony, grabbing his shoulders to stop him in his tracks.  
“Tony, you need to stop this. Stop all of this. You just showed that boy how to build a car in just a few hours. Believe me, he is going to remember that far longer than he remembers that you ignored him first. And besides what else were you picturing when we brought him home? Isn’t tinkering on cars what fathers and sons are supposed to do together?”  
“My father didn’t.” Tony said, a bit mulishly.  
“And that’s the point! Do you really want to base your parenting skills on the example set by your father?” Steve said. “What you need to realize is that you are more than your father. You have had an excellent example on how not to raise a child. And believe me when I say that you are doing it right. Sometimes we’re busy. Sometimes we can’t put everything down to entertain Peter. And that’s okay. He needs to learn patience anyways. But there is no need for you to beat yourself up over it. It’s just the way life is, Tony.” Steve wrapped his arms around Tony and pulled him into a hug.  
Tony pressed his face into Steve’s shoulder and breathed deeply, letting his anxieties bleed out of him. He knew he was being a bit unreasonable, but he couldn’t help but worry sometimes.  
“Do you want to see what he built today?” Tony asked after a minute.  
“Yeah, I do.” Steve said with a smile as Tony lead him back down to the workshop.


End file.
